The actor has been signed up to play the superhero which hasn't gone down well with some fans

Geeks and film fans everywhere are stropping because Ben Affleck is set to play Batman in Warner Bros new comic bookbuster Batman vs Superman, opposite Henry Cavill who will reprise his role as the Man Of Steel.

Thousands have signed a Change.org petition – so much spare time right?– to demand that the studio reconsider their choice.

They reckon Ben doesn’t have the clout to take on their beloved caped crusader, citing his long history as a pretty boy in terrible films.

I don’t think Ben is such a stupid idea after all.

Bear with me.

Let’s consider the concept of the movie itself. Batman has no super powers, and Superman has ALL the super powers.

The fate of this movie doesn’t really rest on Affleck’s shoulders; it rests on whether Warner Bros can possibly come up with a reply to Marvel’s Avengers (which let’s face it, is the point of the whole endeavour) that isn’t completely absurd.

They only have two heroes to play with, and they couldn’t be more disparate.

But perhaps this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Ben.

A lot of the people in a stink over his casting are highlighting Affleck’s turn in 2003’s Daredevil as the proof that he can’t handle an action movie.

But that was 10 years ago, and Daredevil was a dreadful film for many reasons besides Ben’s prowess as a man in tights.

The point of Batman isn’t to be super-buff or super-perfect, quite the opposite. Christian Bale nailed the role because he understood that what makes Batman probably the most interesting comic book star isn’t his brawn, it’s his weaknesses.

He’s older, experienced, he’s known human pain.

Daredevil was released only seven months before the nadir of Ben’s fall from Hollywood grace- when the atrocious Gilgi (made with his then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez) was released, and appeared to confirm the widespread belief that Ben Affleck was just a bimbo who lucked into the industry on the coat tails of his more talented pal Matt Damon.

A lot of actors wouldn’t recover from that kind of nosedive.

Since then, Affleck has directed and acted in the excellent 2010 thriller The Town, and of course Argo, which (as if we’ve forgotten) won the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing earlier this year.

He’s shown serious hidden depths. They’re not depths which would lend themselves to all superhero roles.

We can all see why 30-year-old Cavill was the natural choice for the other male lead in this movie; the evidence practically bursts the seams of whatever he wears. Ben, on the other hand, is a dark horse.